Depression is considered a psychiatric condition. However, modern research suggests that it can be a physiological disorder, just like diabetes.
Association Between Diabetes and Depression
There are many reasons why diabetes could be associated with depression. However, that does not mean one causes the other or vice versa—there could be a third reason that triggers both. For example, metabolic syndrome:
- It is the main cause of diabetes.
- It is more prevalent in depressed individuals compared to non-depressed ones.
- Evidence is slowly emerging that there are brain chemical effects in depression that are connected with glucose metabolism.
Diabetes and depression share many common symptoms such as a feeling of fatigue, excessive sleepiness, mental fog, and inability to concentrate. So it can become hard to tell if one has diabetes, depression, or both, without proper testing.
Can Diabetes Cause Depression?
Diabetes is not found to cause depression directly. However, there are various ways diabetes can lead to depression:
- Some of the diabetes complications, such as heart problems, worsen the depression symptoms.
- Diabetes puts many lifestyle restrictions that can cause stress and lead to depression symptoms.
Diabetes doubles the risk of developing depression.
More than forty per cent of diabetic patients claim that they have struggled with their mental health after the diabetes diagnosis.
Can Depression Cause Diabetes?
- People with depression may be socially withdrawn, not think clearly, be worried about diabetes all the time, and may not communicate or seek help from experts in time. These possibilities may contribute to diabetes development and progress.
- Depressed people often make incorrect lifestyle choices such as avoiding exercise, smoking, drinking excess alcohol, and eating unhealthy foods. These can lead to weight gain and diabetes.
- Some papers show that depression is simultaneously present with metabolic syndrome—a prime cause of diabetes.
Summary
- If a diabetic person notices any depression symptoms for longer than two weeks, he should seek medical help to rule out depression.
- A person with depression should check for diabetes at least once every three to six months.
- If one has depression before developing diabetes, it can make the depression symptoms worse.
To Read More
- Diabetes.org.uk: Links between Diabetes and Depression
- Mayo Clinic: Diabetes and depression: Coping with the two conditions
- American Diabetes Association: Mental Health: Living with Type 1 Diabetes
- The Journal of Medicine and Life: The association between Diabetes mellitus and Depression
- On this Website: Use Modi–Medi diet to treat depression
- On this Website: Is depression treatable?
First published on: 14th December 2021
Image Credit: Image by Freepik
Last Updated on: 15th June 2023